Former Test and County stars to attend PCA Past Players' Day at Cheltenham
14 July 2015
More than 100 former county cricketers, including around 20 Test players, will gather at Cheltenham College on Wednesday July 15 for the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s Past Players’ Day.
The past players will watch the first day of Gloucestershire’s LV= County Championship match against Leicestershire while catching up with old friends over lunch and tea.
The past players range in age from former Gloucestershire wicketkeeper Adam Rouse (pictured playing for Glos at Cheltenham last year),who is the youngest at 23, to Roy Booth, the former Yorkshire and Worcestershire wicketkeeper, who is the oldest at 88.
Former Test players who will be attending this popular annual event include MJK Smith, Nick Cook, Graeme Fowler, Robin Hobbs, Pat Pocock, Neal Radford, David Steele, Roy Swetman, Peter Walker and Mike Watkinson (England), Vanburn Holder and Winston Davis (West Indies) and Sadiq Mohammad (Pakistan).
Watkinson, the former Lancashire all-rounder, will be providing the lunchtime entertainment as guest speaker for the day.
Davis, who played county cricket for Glamorgan and Northamptonshire, is one of the former players who has been supported by the PCA Benevolent Fund in recent years.
The former fast bowler has been wheelchair-bound since he was paralysed from the neck down when he fell from a tree in a gardening accident in November 1997.
Thanks to the PCA Benevolent Fund, who provided a specially-adapted vehicle, Davis’s mobility has increased and he will travel to the Past Players’ Day at Cheltenham from his home in Worcestershire.
Fowler, who recently stepped down as director of cricket at Durham MCCU, has been an important figure in raising awareness of mental health through the PCA’s Mind Matters initiative.
The former Lancashire and Durham batsman has spoken openly about suffering from depression and recorded a video with the PCA to encourage others who might be suffering from depression to seek help.
Jason Ratcliffe, assistant chief executive of the PCA, said: "In our fourth year at Cheltenham and in a convivial festival environment, it's great to see past players from every generation sharing stories of yesteryear and generally catching up.
“The day gives PCA staff and Benevolent Fund trustees the chance to meet in person and acts as another reminder that the PCA is there for the members should there ever be a need."
